Liquefier for a heat pump and heat pump

ABSTRACT

A liquefier for a heat pump includes a liquefier space and a process water tank. The process water tank is arranged within the liquefier space such that it is substantially surrounded by liquefied working fluid. A wall of the process water tank, however, is spaced from a wall of the process water tank so that a gap formed to communicate with the region of the heat pump in which compressed gas is present is obtained, so that the process water tank is thermally insulated from the space for liquefied working fluid via this gas-filled gap. The liquefier itself may also be surrounded by the gas region, in order to provide for inexpensive insulation of the liquefier.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/935,756, filed 21 Jan. 2011, which is a U.S. National Phase entry ofPCT/EP2009/002315, filed 30 Mar. 2009, which claims priority to GermanPatent Application No. 10 2008 016663.4, filed 1 Apr. 2008, each ofwhich is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference thereto.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to heat pumps, and particularly to heatpumps that may be employed for supplying a heating cycle and a processwater cycle.

WO 2007/118482 discloses a heat pump with an evaporator for evaporatingwater as the working liquid to produce working vapor. The heat pumpfurther includes a compressor coupled to the evaporator to compress theworking vapor. Here, the compressor is formed as a flow machine, whereinthe flow machine comprises a radial wheel accepting uncompressed workingvapor at its front side and expelling same by means of correspondinglyformed blades at its side. By way of the suction, the working vapor iscompressed so that compressed working vapor is expelled on the side ofthe radial wheel. This compressed working vapor is supplied to aliquefier. In the liquefier, the compressed working vapor, thetemperature level of which has been raised through the compression, isbrought into contact with liquefied working fluid, so that thecompressed vapor again liquefies and thus gives off energy to theliquefied working fluid located in the liquefier. This liquefier workingfluid is pumped through a heating system by a circulation pump. Inparticular, a heating flow, at which warmer water is output into aheating cycle, such as a floor heating, is arranged to this end. Aheating return then again feeds cooled heating water to the liquefier soas to be heated again by newly condensed working vapor.

This known heat pump may be operated as an open cycle or as a closedcycle. The working medium is water or vapor. In particular, the pressureconditions in the evaporator are such that water having a temperature of12° C. is evaporated. To this end, the pressure in the evaporator is atabout 12 hPa (mbar). By way of the compressor, the pressure of the gasis raised to, e.g., 100 mbar. This corresponds to an evaporationtemperature of 45° C. thus prevailing in the liquefier, and particularlyin the topmost layer of the liquefied working fluid. This temperature issufficient for supplying a floor heating.

If higher heating temperatures are required, more compression isadjusted. However, if lower heating temperatures are needed, lesscompression is adjusted.

Furthermore, the heat pump is based on multi-stage compression. A firstflow machine is formed to raise the working vapor to medium pressure.This working vapor at a medium pressure may be guided through a heatexchanger for process water heating so as to then be raised to thepressure needed for the liquefier, such as 100 mbar, e.g. by a last flowmachine of a cascade of at least two flow machines. The heat exchangerfor process water heating is formed to cool the gas heated (andcompressed) by a previous flow machine. Here, the overheating enthalpyis utilized wisely to increase the efficiency of the overall compressionprocess. The cooled gas is then compressed further with one or moredownstream compressors or directly supplied to the liquefier. Heat istaken from the compressed water vapor so as to heat process water tohigher temperatures than, e.g., 40° C. therewith. However, this does notreduce the overall efficiency of the heat pump, but even increases it,because two successively connected flow machines with gas coolingconnected therebetween achieve the demanded gas pressure in theliquefier with a longer life due to the reduced thermal stress and withless energy than if a single flow machine without gas cooling werepresent.

In heating systems, a process water tank of its own may be arranged,which holds a certain amount of process water which is heated to acertain default warm-water temperature. This process water tanktypically is dimensioned so that warm water can be dispensed at defaulttemperature for a certain period of time, e.g. for filling a bathtub.For this reason, a mere flow-type heating principle often is notemployed in process water heating when no combustion processes are to beemployed for process water heating, but a certain process water volumeis kept at the specified temperature instead.

This process water tank should, on the one hand, not be too large, sothat its thermal inertia does not become too great. On the other hand,this process water tank should not be too small either, so that aminimum amount of warm water can be tapped quickly, without thetemperature of the warm water decreasing significantly, which woulddetract from the convenience of the heating.

At the same time, the process water tank should be sufficientlyinsulated, since heat loss via the process water tank is especiallydisadvantageous. Thus, this heat loss has to be compensated for, toensure that a sufficiently large amount of warm process water isavailable at all times. This means that the heating must also operatewhen there currently is no demand, but when the contents of the processwater tank have been cooled due to bad insulation.

This means that the process water tank is to be insulated especiallywell, which again entails both space for insulating materials and costsof the insulating materials.

Moreover, a heating system, so as to be well accepted on the market,must not be too bulky and should be offered in a form ensuring ease ofhandling by workmen and builder-owners, and can easily be transportedand set up at typical locations, such as in cellars or heating rooms.Special insulation for the process water tank could indeed be built inon location so as to keep the volume of the overall heating system smallfor transportation and setup on location. On the other hand, each stepof later assembly of a heating system leads to costs for the workman andat the same time also to additional fault liability. Moreover, theinsulation material needed for insulating the process water tank also isexpensive if good insulation effects are to be achieved. However, aninsulation effect is important especially for heat pumps to be used insmaller buildings, since such heat pumps are to be used in large numbersand should be optimized for high efficiency, i.e. the ratio of expendedenergy to extracted energy, so that maximum energy efficiency isachieved on the whole.

SUMMARY

According to an embodiment, a liquefier for a heat pump may have: aliquefier space having a working fluid space filled up to a fillinglevel when liquefied working fluid is filled in, and capable of beingfilled with gaseous working fluid in a gas region above the fillinglevel; a process water tank formed so that its content is separated fromthe liquefied working fluid in the working fluid space in terms ofliquid, wherein the process water tank has a process water inflow forcold process water and a process water outflow for heated process water,wherein the process water tank is arranged at least partially in theworking fluid space, and wherein the process water tank has a wallspaced from a wall of the working fluid space, whereby a gap formed soas to communicate with the gas region and hold at least partiallygaseous working fluid in operation is obtained.

According to another embodiment, a heat pump may have: a liquefier for aheat pump as mentioned above; and an evaporator, wherein the evaporatoris arranged below the liquefier in a setup direction of the heat pump.

According to another embodiment, a heat pump may have: an evaporator; aliquefier with a liquefier wall; and a gas region extending from theevaporator to the liquefier, wherein the gas region is formed to holdevaporated working fluid in the evaporator, which is liquefied uponentering the liquefier, wherein heat can be given off to liquefiedworking fluid, wherein the gas region extends along the liquefier wall.

According to still another embodiment, a method of manufacturing aliquefier for a heat pump with a liquefier space having a working fluidspace, which is filled up to a filling level when liquefied workingfluid is filled in, and which can be filled with gaseous working fluidabove the filling level in a gas region, and a process water tank formedso that its content is separated from the liquefied working fluid in theworking fluid space in terms of liquid, wherein the process water tankhas a process water inflow for cold process water and a process outflowfor heated process water, may have the step of: producing the liquefierspace and the process water tank so that the process water tank isarranged at least partially within the working fluid space, wherein, inthe step of producing, a wall of the process water tank is manufacturedsuch that it is spaced from a wall of the working fluid space, whereby agap formed to communicate with the gas region and hold at leastpartially gaseous working fluid in operation is obtained.

According to another embodiment, a method of manufacturing a heat pumpwith an evaporator, a liquefier with a liquefier wall and a gas regionextending from the evaporator to the liquefier, may have the step of:arranging the gas region so that the gas region extends along theliquefier wall.

The present invention is based on the finding that the simplest, and atthe same time most efficient accommodation of the process water tank isachieved in the working fluid space of the liquefier. The working fluidspace and the process water tank are arranged so that the process watertank has a wall spaced from a wall of the working fluid space. Hence, agap, which at least partially comprises neither working fluid in liquidform nor process water, but is only filled with vapor, is obtainedbetween these two walls. This vapor may be the same compressed workingvapor that is transported into the liquefier from the compressor. Thiscompressed working vapor fills the gap between the process water tankand the working fluid space.

The process water in the process water tank thus is not spaced from theliquid in the liquefier by one wall only, but by two walls and a vaporlayer and/or gas layer therebetween.

Since vapor and/or gas have a significantly higher thermal resistancethan water and/or the liquefied gas, the process water tank thus isinsulated from the content of the working fluid space in the liquefierwithout any further measures.

In an embodiment, the heat pump is operated with water. As compared withthe atmospheric pressure, even compressed vapor, as is present in such aheat pump, has relatively low pressure, such as 100 mbar (100 hPa).Hence, the insulating effect between the process water tank and theliquefied working fluid is increased even more as compared with higherpressures of the vapor. This is due to the fact that the insulatingeffect of a gas-filled gap becomes greater, the smaller the pressure ofthe gas becomes, with the best insulating effect being achieved whenthere is a vacuum in the gap.

In embodiments of the present invention, the process water tank isheated by a heat exchanger guiding warm liquefier liquid through theprocess water tank in a fluidically insulated manner. Furthermore, theprocess water tank is formed so as to be heated with an intermediatecooler arranged behind an intermediate stage of a cascade of compressorsor behind the last compressor stage. Here, it is of advantage that theprocess water in the process water tank is guided directly through theintermediate cooler. With this, a surface of the intermediate cooler incontact with overheated vapor is directly cooled by the process water,in order to achieve higher temperatures in the process water tank thanotherwise present for heating purposes in the liquefier. By the processwater tank directly holding the intermediate cooler liquid, any lossesthrough an additional heat exchanger become unnecessary.

Furthermore, such usage of the process water, which may be drunk, afterall, in contrast to heating water, and is therefore hygienic, isuncritical because the liquid volume in the intermediate cooler itselfis relatively small.

Furthermore, temperatures substantially higher than the liquefiertemperatures are reached in the intermediate cooler due to theoverheating properties, which additionally assists in maintaininghygienic conditions in the process water tank.

Usually, the process water tank is provided with a cold water supply anda warm water flow, as well as typically with a circulation pump return.

The arrangement of the process water tank in the liquefier, andparticularly in the working fluid space of the liquefier, wherein theprocess water tank is, however, thermally separated from the workingfluid space via a gap filled with gas or vapor, entails severaladvantages. One advantage is that the process water tank does not needany additional space, but is contained within the volume of the workingfluid space. Hence, the heat pump does not have any additionalcomplicated form and is compact. Moreover, the process water tank doesnot need insulation of its own. This insulation would be necessitated ifit was attached at another place. However, the entire working fluidspace, and particularly the gap filled with gas and/or vapor, now actsas an inherent insulation. Furthermore, heat losses, which may stilloccur, are uncritical because the entire heat given off by the processwater tank reaches the liquefier itself, where it is often used asheating heat. Real losses are only heat losses to the outside, i.e. tothe surrounding air, which do not occur in the process water tank,however.

It is further advantageous that the gas filling for the gap between thewall of the process water tank and the wall of the working fluid spacedoes not have to be specially manufactured. Instead, the working vaporitself, which is present in the liquefier anyway, is used advantageouslyto this end. Apart from the fact that vapor and/or gas have a betterinsulation effect than the liquefied vapor, i.e. the water and/or theliquefied gas, the insulation between the process water tank and theworking fluid space is especially good when the heat pump works withwater as the working fluid, because the pressure in the liquefier,albeit higher than the pressure in the evaporator, is relatively low,such as at 100 hPa, which corresponds to medium negative pressure.

Furthermore, the arrangement of the process water tank in the workingfluid space of the liquefier leads to the fact that conduit paths to theworking fluid space itself, e.g. for a decoupled heat exchanger, areshort. Moreover, conduit paths to a liquid-coupled heater, such as to anintermediate cooler, behind a compressor stage also are short, since thecompressor also typically is attached close to the liquefier.

All these properties do not only lead to the fact that the heat pump asa whole becomes more compact and therefore more inexpensive and betterto handle, but also to the fact that the losses of the heat pump areminimized further. All the heat losses from the process water actuallyare no real losses, because the heat only reaches the liquefier spaceand is beneficial there for heating the heating cycle. Nevertheless,however, it is easily possible, due to the good insulation, to maintaina higher temperature in the process water tank, at least in the upperregion, than is present in the liquefied working fluid, because a highertemperature is generated in the intermediate cooler, which temperatureis, for example, directly given off to the process water, i.e. without aheat exchanger therebetween, and is fed to the process water tank in theupper region, which is where the warmest layer of the process water tankis located.

In one embodiment, alternatively or additionally, the liquefier isthermally insulated from the outer environment by the gas region. Tothis end, the gas region, which extends from the evaporator of the heatpump to the liquefier of the heat pump, wherein the liquefier has aliquefier wall, is formed so as to extend along the liquefier wall.Hence, the liquefier does not have to be insulated to the outside anymore, because the gas region, in which there is significantly lowerpressure than in the liquefier, already has very good insulationproperties. Especially when the heat pump is operated with water and theworking fluid and typical liquefier temperatures, as are needed forheating buildings, such as ranging from 30 to 60° C., are present in theliquefier, there is very low pressure in the gas region, for example onthe order of 50 mbar, which almost represents a vacuum with respect tothe environment, which is at 1000 mbar. This “near vacuum” hassubstantially better insulation properties than a specially employedinsulant, such as organic or synthetic insulants. Moreover, thisinsulation with the gas region saves providing an additional insulant,which entails cost savings on the one hand and space savings andassembly savings on the other hand. Thus, an insulant, which is notneeded at all, must be neither bought nor assembled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will be explained in greater detailin the following with respect to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of the heat pump with an evaporator,a compressor and a liquefier including a process water tank;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of the process water tank of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged illustration of the arrangement of the processwater tank in the working fluid space;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of the compressor/intermediatecooling cascade of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the arrangement of the second compressorstage at the upper end of the up-flow conduit;

FIG. 6 is an illustration even further enlarged as compared with FIG. 5of the arrangement of the first compressor stage at the bottom end ofthe up-flow conduit;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of an arrangement of a compressormotor in the up-flow conduit; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-section through the up-flow conduit with fixtures andadditional cooling fins.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a heat pump in which aliquefier may be employed advantageously. The heat pump includes a heatpump housing 100 comprising, in a setup direction of the heat pump fromthe bottom to the top, first an evaporator 200 and a liquefier 300 aboveit. Furthermore, a first compressor stage 410 feeding a firstintermediate cooler 420 is arranged between the evaporator 200 and theliquefier 300. Compressed gas output from the intermediate cooler 420enters a second compressor stage 430 and there is condensed and suppliedto a second intermediate cooler 440, from which the compressed, butintermediately cooled gas (vapor) is fed to a liquefier 500. Theliquefier has a liquefier space 510, which comprises a working fluidspace filled with liquefied working fluid, such as water, up to afilling level 520. The liquefier 500 and/or the liquefier space 510 arelimited to the outside by a liquefier wall 505, which provides a lateralboundary of the liquefier shown in cross-section in FIG. 1 as well as alower boundary, i.e. a bottom area of the liquefier shown in FIG. 1.Above the filling level 520, which sets the boundary between theliquefied working fluid 530 and the not (yet) liquefied, but gaseousworking fluid 540, there is the gaseous working fluid, which wasexpelled by the second compressor 430 into the second intermediatecooler 440.

There is a process water tank 600 in the working fluid space 530. Theprocess water tank 600 is formed such that its contents are separatedfrom the liquefied working fluid in the working fluid space 530 in termsof liquid. Furthermore, the process water tank 600 includes a processwater inflow 610 for cold process water and a process water outflow orprocess water flow 620 for warm process water.

According to the invention, the process water tank 600 is arranged atleast partially in the working fluid space 530. The process water tankincludes a process water tank wall 630 arranged spaced from a wall 590of the working fluid space so that a gap 640 formed to communicate withthe gas region 540 results. Furthermore, the arrangement is such that,in operation, no liquefied working fluid or at least partially noliquefied working fluid is contained in the gap 640. An insulatingeffect between the water in the process water tank 600 and the liquefiedworking fluid (such as water) in the working fluid space 530 is obtainedalready when e.g. the upper region of the gap 640 is full of workingfluid vapor and/or working fluid gas, while for some reason the lowerregion of the gap is filled with working fluid.

In particular, since the liquid of the process water is less in thelower region than in the upper region, it is sufficient anyway,depending on the implementation, to ensure insulation only in the upperregion, because it may even be partly favorable for the lower region tohave no insulation or only little insulation to the liquefier space.This is due to the fact that the water supply is at about 12° C., or atlower temperatures, particularly in winter when the water from the waterconduit is even colder. In contrast, the lower region of the workingfluid space will have temperatures of maybe more than 30° C. and maye.g. be even at 37° C. Hence, at least for ensuring that the upper(warmer) region of the process water tank is warmer than the liquefierspace, it is uncritical whether the lower region of the process watertank is insulated particularly thickly from the liquefier. Thus, it isnot so critical if the lower region is filled with liquefied workingfluid, as long as the region of the process water tank where a highertemperature results due to the layering is thermally insulated from theworking fluid space 530.

Subsequently, the individual components of the heat pump described inFIG. 1 will be illustrated in greater detail.

In an evaporator inflow 210, liquid working fluid to be cooled issupplied, such as ground water, seawater, brine, river water, etc., ifan open cycle takes place. In contrast, also a closed cycle may takeplace, wherein the liquefied working fluid supplied via the evaporatorinflow conduit 210 in this case e.g. is water pumped into the ground andup again via a closed underground conduit. The seal and the compressorsare designed such that a pressure that is such that water evaporates atthe temperature at which it rises via the inflow conduit 210 forms in anevaporation space 220. So as to let this process take place as well aspossible, the evaporator 200 is provided with an expander 230, which maybe rotationally symmetrical, wherein it is fed at the center like an“inversed” plate, and the water then flows off from the center outwardlytoward all sides and is collected in an also circular collecting trench235. At one point of the collecting trench 235, an outflow 240 isformed, via which the water cooled by the evaporation and/or the workingfluid is pumped down again in liquid form, i.e. toward the heat source,which may for example be the ground water or the soil.

A water jet deflector 245 is arranged so as to ensure that the waterconveyed by the inflow conduit 210 does not splash upward, but flows offevenly toward all sides and ensures as efficient an evaporation aspossible. An expansion valve 250, by which a pressure difference betweenboth spaces may be controlled, if needed, is arranged between theevaporation space 220 and the working fluid space. Control signals forthe expansion valve as well as for the compressors 410, 430 and forother pumps are supplied by an electronic controller 260, which may bearranged at any location, wherein issues like good accessibility fromthe outside for adjustment and maintenance purposes are more importantthan thermal coupling and/or decoupling from the evaporation space orfrom the liquefaction space.

The vapor contained in the evaporation space 220 is sucked by a firstcompressor stage 410 in a flow as uniform as possible via a shaping forthe evaporation space, which narrows from the bottom upward. To thisend, the first compressor stage includes a motor 411 (FIG. 6) driving aradial wheel 413 via a motor shaft 412 schematically depicted in FIG. 6.The radial wheel 413 sucks the vapor through its bottom side 413 a andoutputs the same in a compressed form at its output side 413 b. Thus,the now compressed working vapor reaches a first portion of the vaporchannel 414, from where the vapor reaches the first intermediate cooler420. The first intermediate cooler 420 is characterized by acorresponding protrusion 421 for slowing the flow rate of the workinggas overheated due to the compression, which may be penetrated by fluidchannels, depending on the implementation, as not shown in FIG. 1,however. These fluid channels may, for example, be flown through byheating water, i.e. working fluid water, in the working fluid space 530.Alternatively or additionally, these channels may also be flown throughby the cold water supply cycle 610, in order to already obtainpreheating for the process water fed into the process water tank 600.

In another embodiment, the guiding of the fluid channel 420 around thecold bottom end of the working fluid space 530 of the liquefier 500 actssuch that the working fluid vapor, which extends through this relativelylong expanded working fluid channel, cools and gives off its overheatingenthalpy on its way from the first radial wheel 33 (FIG. 5).

The working fluid vapor flows through the intermediate cooler 420 via asecond channel portion 422 into a suction opening 433 a of the radialwheel 433 of the second compressor stage and there is fed into thesecond intermediate cooler 440 laterally at an expulsion opening 433 b.To this end, a channel portion 434 is provided extending between thelateral expulsion opening 433 b of the radial wheel 433 and an inputinto the intermediate cooler 440.

The working vapor condensed by the second compressor stage 430 to theliquefier pressure then passes through the second intermediate cooler440 and is then guided onto cold liquefied working fluid 511. This coldliquefied working fluid 511 is then brought onto an expander in theliquefier, which is designated with 512. The expander 512 has a similarshape to the expander 230 in the evaporator and again is fed by way of acentral opening, wherein the central opening in the liquefier is fed byway of an up-flow conduit 580 in contrast to the inflow conduit 210 inthe evaporator. Through the up-flow conduit 580, cooled liquefiedworking fluid, i.e. arranged at the bottom area of the working fluidspace 530, is sucked from a bottom area of the working fluid space 530,as indicated by arrows 581, and brought up in the up-flow conduit 580,as indicated by arrows 582.

The working fluid in liquid form, which is cold because it comes fromthe bottom of the working fluid space, now represents an ideal“liquefaction partner” for the hot compressed working fluid vapor 540 inthe vapor space of the liquefier. This leads to the fact that theliquefied working fluid conveyed by the up-flow conduit 580 is heated upmore and more by the liquefying vapor on the way on which it flows fromthe central opening downward toward the edge, so that the water, when itenters the working fluid space filled with liquefied working fluid onthe edge of the expander (at 517), heats up the working fluid space.

Liquefied working fluid of the working fluid space 530 is pumped into aheating system, such as floor heating, via a heating flow 531. There,the warm heating water gives off its temperature to the floor or to airor a heat exchanger medium, and the cooled heating water again flowsinto the working fluid space 530 via a heating return 532. There, it isagain sucked via the flow 582 generated in the up-flow conduit 580, asillustrated at the arrows 581, and again conveyed onto the expander 512so as to be heated again.

Subsequently, with respect to FIG. 1 and FIGS. 2 and 3, the processwater tank 600 will be dealt with in greater detail. Apart from the coldwater inflow 610 and the warm water flow 620, the process water tank 600may further include a circulation return 621, which is connected to thewarm water flow 620 and a circulation pump such that, by actuating thecirculation pump, it is ensured that preheated process water is presentat a process water tap. With this, it is ensured that the tap for warmwater does not have to be actuated for a very long time at first untilwarm water exits the tap.

Furthermore, a schematically drawn process water heater 660, which may,for example, be formed as a heater coil 661 (FIG. 1), is provided in theprocess water tank. The process water heater is connected to a processwater heater inflow 662 and a process water heater outflow 662. Theliquid cycle in the process water heater 660 is, however, coupled fromthe process water in the process water tank, but may be coupled with theworking fluid in the working fluid space 530, as illustrated in FIG. 1,in particular. Here, warm liquefied working fluid is sucked, by a pumpthat is not shown, through the process water heater inflow 662 near theentry location 517, where the highest temperatures are present, into theprocess water heater 660, transported through it and output again at thebottom, i.e. where the coldest temperatures in the working fluid space530 are present. A pump that may be used for this may either be arrangedin the process water tank itself (but decoupled in terms of liquid) soas to use the waste heat of the pump, or may be provided outside theprocess water tank in the liquefier space, which is of advantage forreasons of hygiene.

Thus, the process water tank 600 has an upper portion and a lowerportion, wherein the heat exchanger 660 is arranged such that it extendsmore in the lower portion than in the upper portion. The process waterheater with its heating coil thus only extends where the temperaturelevel of the process water tank is equal to or smaller than thetemperature of the liquefier water. In the upper portion of the processwater tank, the temperature will, however, be above the temperature ofthe liquefier water, so that the heat exchanger with its active region,i.e. its heating coil, for example, does not have to be arranged there.

By way of the process water heater 660, the process water present in theprocess water tank 600 thus cannot be heated to any higher temperaturesthan are present at the warmest point in the liquefier, i.e. around thelocation 517, where the heated working fluid enters the working fluidvolume in the liquefier from the expander 512.

A higher temperature is reached by using process water to achieveintermediate cooling of the compressed vapor. To this end, the processwater tank includes a connection in its upper region to accommodateprocess water passed through the intermediate cooler 440, which is at asignificantly higher temperature than is present at the location 517.This intermediate cooler outflow 671 thus serves to bring the topmostregion of the process water tank 600 to a temperature above thetemperature of the liquefied working fluid 530 near the working fluidlevel 520. Cooled process water and/or supplied cold process water istaken off at the bottom location of the process water tank via theintermediate cooler inflow 672 and supplied to the intermediate cooler440. Depending on the implementation, the process water is heated notonly by the second intermediate cooler 440, but also is heated by thefirst intermediate cooler 420/421, although this is not illustrated inFIG. 1.

In a usual design of the heat pump, it may be assumed that theintermediate cooling does not provide any such strong heating power forthe intermediate cooler cycle alone to be sufficient to generate asufficient amount of warm water. For this reason, the process water tank600 is designed to have a certain volume, such that the process watertank is constantly heated to a temperature above the liquefiertemperature in normal operation of the heat pump. Thus, a predeterminedbuffer is present for when a greater amount of water is taken out, suchas for a bathtub or for several showers having been had simultaneouslyor in quick succession. Here, also an automatic process water preferenceeffect occurs. If very much warm water is taken out, the intermediatecooler becomes colder and colder and will remove more and more heat fromthe vapor, which may well lead to reduced energy the vapor is stillcapable of giving off to the liquefier water. This effect of preferringthe warm water dispensing is, however, desirable because heating cyclestypically do not react that quickly, and at the moment at which onewould like to have process water warm process water is more importantthan the issue of whether the heating cycle works slightly more weaklyfor a short period of time.

However, if the process water tank is fully heated, the process waterheater 660 may be deactivated by the electronic controller by stoppingthe circulation pump. Furthermore, the intermediate cooler cycle mayalso be stopped via the connections 671, 672 and the correspondingintermediate cooler pump, because the process water tank is at itsmaximum temperature. However, this is not absolutely necessary, becausewhen the process water tank is fully heated, the energy present there isto some extent reversely fed into the process water heater 660, whichnow acts as the process water cooler, in order to still advantageouslyutilize the overheating enthalpy to heat the working fluid space of theliquefier even at its lower, rather cooler location.

The inventive arrangement of the process water tank in the liquefierspace and the heating of the process water tank by a process waterheater from the liquefier volume and/or by a cycle to an intermediatecooler thus does not necessarily have to be controlled especiallytightly, but may even work without control, because preference of thewarm water processing takes place automatically, and because, when warmwater processing is not necessary, such as at longer periods during thenight, the process water tank serves to additionally heat the liquefierfurther. The purpose of this heating is to be able to maybe even reducethe power consumption of the compressor, without the heating of thebuilding, performed via the heating flow 531 and the heating return 532,falling below its nominal value.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of the accommodation of theprocess water tank 600 in the liquefier space. In particular, it is ofadvantage for the entire process water tank 600 to be arranged below thefilling level 520 of the liquefied working fluid. If the heat pump isdesigned so that a filling level 520 of the liquefied working fluid mayvary, a gap vapor feed 641 may be arranged above the maximum fillinglevel 520 for liquefied working fluid in the working fluid space 530.With this, it is ensured that, even in the case of the maximum fillinglevel 520, no working fluid may enter the gap 640 via the conduit 641.Thereby, vapor is present in the entire space 640, namely the vapor thatis also in the region filled with vapor or gas region 540 of theliquefier. The process water tank 600 therefore is arranged by analogywith a thermos bottle in the liquefier, namely below the “watersurface”.

By analogy with a thermos bottle, in which the inner region into whichthe liquid to be kept warm is filled is insulated by an evacuated regionfrom the outside surrounding air, the process water tank 600 isinsulated from the heating water in the space 530 by a vapor or gasfilling, without any solid insulating material in the gap. Even thoughthere is no high vacuum in the gap 640, a significant negative pressure,for example 100 mbar, still is present in the gap 640, particularly forheat pumps operated with water as the working fluid, i.e. operating atrelatively low pressures.

The size of the gap, i.e. the shortest distance between the workingfluid space wall 590 and the process water tank wall 630, is uncriticalwith respect to the dimensions and should be greater than 0.5 cm. Themaximum size of the gap is arbitrary, but is limited by the fact that anincrease of the gap at some point brings along more disadvantages due toless compactness and no longer provides any greater advantages withrespect to the insulation. Therefore, it is of advantage to make themaximum gap between the walls 630 and 590 smaller than 5 cm.

Furthermore, it is of advantage to design the liquefier 500 so that thevolume of liquefied working fluid, which at the same time represents theheating water storage, ranges from 100 to 500 liters. The volume of theprocess water tank will typically be smaller and may range from 5% to50% of the volume of the working fluid space 530.

Furthermore, it is to be pointed out that the cross-sectionalillustration in FIG. 1, apart from certain connecting conduits, whichare self-explanatory, is rotationally symmetrical. This means that theexpander 230 in the evaporator or the expander 512 may be formed, as itwere, as an inverted plate in the top view.

Moreover, the vapor channels 414, 422 will extend in a circular wayaround the entire almost cylindrical space for the liquefied workingfluid, which is circular in the top view.

Moreover, also the process water tank may be circular in the top view.The process water tank is arranged in the right half of the workingfluid space 530, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1. Depending on theimplementation, however, it could also be arranged in a rotationallysymmetrical manner, so that it would extend, as it were, like a ringaround the up-flow conduit. Such a large-scale design of the processwater tank often is not necessary, however, so that a design of theprocess water tank in a sector of the working fluid space that iscircular in top view is sufficient, wherein this sector may be smallerthan 180 degrees.

Subsequently, on the basis of FIG. 4, the compressor cycle with thearranged intermediate coolers will be illustrated in greater detail. Inparticular, as illustrated on the basis of FIG. 1, evaporated watervapor at low temperature and low pressure, such as at 10° C. and 10mbar, reaches a first compressor stage 410 which may be implemented by amotor with an associated radial wheel via the evaporation conduit 200.It is already to be noted that the motor for driving the radial wheelaccording to the invention is arranged in the up-flow conduit 580, aswill still be illustrated in greater detail and has already beenexplained in FIG. 6. At the output of the first compressor 410, alsoreferred to as K1 in FIG. 4, vapor is fed into the vapor channel 414.This vapor has a pressure of about 30 mbar and typically has atemperature of about 40° C. due to the overheating enthalpy. Thistemperature of about 40° C. is now being removed from the vapor, withoutsignificantly affecting its pressure, via the first intermediate cooler420.

The intermediate cooler 420, which is not shown in FIG. 1, includes e.g.a conduit arranged in thermal coupling to the surface of the expansion421 and in the area of the gas channel 414 so as to remove energy fromthe vapor there. This energy may be used to heat the working fluid space530 of the liquefier or to already heat part of the process water tank,such as the lower part, if the process water tank is designed as alayered reservoir. In this case, a further inflow originating from thefirst intermediate cooler would not be arranged at the top in theprocess water tank, but roughly in the middle of the process water tank.Alternatively, however, cooling of the gas to the temperature or nearthe temperature prevailing in the working fluid space already takesplace by guiding the channels 414 and 422 along the working fluid spacewhen the wall of the working fluid space is formed to be non-insulating,as it is of advantage.

Then, the gas, which is at the medium pressure of 30 mbar but is nowcooled again, reaches the second compressor stage 430, where it iscompressed to about 100 mbar and output into the gas output conduit 434at a high temperature, wherein this temperature may be at 100-200° C.The gas is cooled by the second intermediate cooler 440, which heats theprocess water tank 600 via the connections 671, 672, as has beenillustrated, but without significantly reducing the pressure. Thecompressed gas, now reduced in its overheating enthalpy, is supplied tothe liquefier to heat the heating water, wherein the “channel” betweenthe output of the intermediate cooler 440 and the liquefier expander 512is designated with the reference numeral 438.

Subsequently, on the basis of FIG. 5, the more detailed construction ofthe second compressor stage 430 and the interaction with the secondintermediate cooler 440 will be illustrated. The radial wheel 433 of thesecond compressor compresses the gas supplied via the channel 422 or,when the heat pump is operated with water, the vapor supplied via thechannel 422 to a high temperature and a high pressure and outputs theheated and compressed vapor into the vapor output conduit 434, where thevapor then enters the second intermediate cooler 440, which is formed sothat the gas has to take a relatively long path around this intermediatecooler, such as the zigzag path indicated by arrows 445, 446. Thisshaping for the path of the gas in the intermediate cooler may easily beachieved by plastic injection-molding methods.

The intermediate cooler has a middle intermediate cooler portion 447,which may be penetrated by piping not shown in FIG. 5. Alternatively,the middle portion 447 may be completely hollow and be flown through byprocess water to be heated in the sense of a flat conduit, in order toachieve the maximum heating effect possible. Corresponding conduits forprocess water may also be provided at the exterior walls in theintermediate cooler portion such that, in the intermediate cooler 440,there is a surface as cool as possible for the gas flowing through theintermediate cooler 440, so that as much thermal energy as possible canbe given off to the circulating process water, in order to achieve, inthe process water tank, a temperature significantly above thetemperature in the liquefier space.

It is to be pointed out that the intermediate cooler 440 may also beformed alternatively. Indeed, several zigzag paths may be provided,until the gas may then enter the intermediate cooler output conduit 438so as to be able to finally condense. Moreover, any heat exchangerconcepts may be employed for the intermediate cooler 440, but whereincomponents flown through by process water are of advantage.

Subsequently, with reference to FIG. 7, the arrangement of thecompressor motor in the up-flow conduit 580 will be illustrated. FIG. 7shows the motor 411, which drives a motor shaft 412, which in turn isconnected to an element 413 designated as compressor. The elementdesignated as compressor 413 may be a radial wheel, for example.However, any other rotatable element sucking vapor at low pressure onthe input side and expelling vapor at high pressure on the output sidemay be used as a compression element. In the arrangement shown in FIG.7, only the compressor 413 is arranged, i.e. the rotatable compressionmember in the vapor stream extending from the space 220 to the vaporchannel 414. The motor and a substantial part of the motor shaft, i.e.the elements 411 and 412, are not, however, arranged in the vapormedium, but in the liquefier space for liquefied working fluid, such asliquefier water, wherein this working fluid space is designated with530. By way of the arrangement of the motor in the liquefier water, themotor waste heat, which also develops in highly low-loss motors,favorably is not given off to the environment in a useless way, but tothe liquefied heating fluid to be heated itself. This liquefied heatingfluid itself provides—as seen from the other side—good cooling for themotor so that the motor does not overheat and suffer damage.

The arrangement of the motor in the liquefier, and particularly in anup-flow conduit of the liquefier, also has another advantageous effect.In particular, inherent sound insulation is achieved in that the motionexerted by the motor on the surrounding liquefied working fluid does notresult in the entire working fluid being set into motion, because thiswould then lead to sound generation. This sound generation would entailadditional intensive sound-proofing measures, which again entailsadditional cost and additional effort, however. Yet, if the motor 411 isarranged in the up-flow conduit 580 or, generally speaking, in acylindrical pipe, which does not necessarily have to be an upstreamconduit, movement of the working fluid generated by movement of themotor does not lead to any noise generation outside the liquefier atall, or only to very reduced noise.

The reason for this is that, although the working fluid is set to motionwithin the up-flow conduit and/or within the cylindrical object due tothe mounting of the motor and to potentially additionally presentcooling fins of the motor, this motion is not transferred to theliquefied working fluid surrounding the cylindrical pipe due to the wallof the cylindrical pipe. Instead, the entire noise-generating motion ofthe working fluid remains contained within the pipe, because the pipeitself may be turned back and forth due to its cylindrical shape, butdoes not generate any significant motion in the liquefier watersurrounding the pipe by this back and forth rotation. For a moredetailed illustration of this effect, reference is made to FIG. 8 in thefollowing, with FIG. 8 illustrating a cross-section along the line A-A′of FIG. 7.

FIG. 8 shows a pipe, which is the up-flow conduit 580, in oneembodiment. A motor body 411, which is illustrated only by way ofexample to have a circular cross-section, is arranged in the pipe. Themotor body 411 is held in the pipe 580 by fixtures 417. Depending on theimplementation, only two, three or, as shown in FIG. 8, also fourfixtures, or even more fixtures may be employed. In addition to thefixtures, cooling fins 418 may also be employed, which are attached insectors formed by the fixtures 417, and particularly centered and/oruniformly distributed there, in order to achieve an optimum andwell-distributed cooling effect.

It is to be pointed out that the fixtures 417 may also act as coolingfins, and that all cooling fins 418 may at the same time also be formedas fixtures. In this case, the material for the fixtures 417 may be amaterial of good thermal conductance, such as metal or plastics filledwith metal particles.

The pipe 580 itself is also mounted within the liquefier by suspensions,leading to the motor being supported safely via the pipe.

Vibrations of the motor 411 may lead to motion of the motor around itsaxis, as illustrated at 419. This leads to the fact that strong motionis exerted on the liquefied working fluid within the pipe 580, becausethe cooling fins and fixtures act, so to speak, as “oars”. This motionof the liquefied working fluid, however, is limited to the region withinthe pipe 580, and no corresponding excitation of the liquefier wateroutside the pipe 580 is achieved. This is due to the fact that, althoughthe pipe 580 has such “oars” on the inside because of the motor fixtures417 and the cooling fins 418, the pipe 580 may have a smooth surface onthe outside, which may be round, too. Hence, the pipe glides on theoutside liquefier water due to the vibrational movement 419 withoutcausing any disturbance in the outside liquefier water 530, and hencewithout generating disturbing sound. Such a disturbance only existswithin the cross-section of the pipe 580 and does not reach thesurrounding liquid in the liquefier as a disturbing wave from there.

Although an arrangement of the motor in a corresponding pipe havingfixture fins and/or cooling fins on the inside already leads to soundcontainment, it is further of advantage to use the pipe 580 as anup-flow conduit at the same time, so as to achieve space-saving andefficient multi-functionality. The up-flow conduit 580 serves totransport cooled liquefier water into a region also reached by vaporthat is to condense so as to give off its energy into the liquefierwater as much as possible. To this end, cold liquefied working fluid istransported from the bottom up in the liquefier space. This transport isthrough the up-flow conduit, which may be arranged centrally, i.e. inthe middle of the liquefier space, and feeds the expander 512 of FIG. 1.The up-flow conduit may, however, also be arranged in a decentralizedmanner, as long as it is surrounded by liquefier water in an area aslarge as possible, and advantageously completely.

So as to make the liquefier water flow through the up-flow conduit 580from the bottom upward, a circulation pump 588, as drawn in FIG. 7, forexample, is provided in the up-flow conduit. The circulation pump maysimilarly be arranged with fixtures on the up-flow conduit, althoughthis is not shown in FIG. 7. Yet, the designs of the circulation pumpare uncritical, because it does not have to provide such highcompression power and/or rotational speeds. Simple operation of thecirculation pump at low rotational speeds, however, already leads to theliquefier water flowing from the bottom up, namely along the flowdirection 582. This flow leads to the heat generated in the motor 411being removed, namely so that the motor is cooled with liquefier waterthat is as cold as possible. This does not only apply for the motor ofthe lower, first compressor 410, but also for the motor of the upper,second compressor 430.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the motor shaft 412 pierces thebottom of the liquefier space so as to drive the compressor arrangedbelow the bottom of the liquefier space, i.e. the radial wheel 413exemplarily shown in FIG. 6. To this end, the passage of the shaftthrough the wall, drawn at 412 a, is formed as a sealed passage suchthat no liquefier water from above enters the radial wheel. Therequirements for this seal are relaxed by the fact that the radial wheel413 gives off the compressed fluid laterally and not at the top, so thatthe upper “lid” of the radial wheel already is sealed anyway, and thusthere is enough space for generating an effective seal between thechannel 414 and the liquefier space 530. Another case, which is shown inFIG. 5, is similar. The radial wheel 433 there again lies in the gaschannel, whereas the motor is in the region of the liquefier, which isfilled with liquefied working fluid, i.e. with water, for example.

In particular, the functionality of the circulation pump 588 leads towater conveyed through the up-flow conduit impinging on the lowerboundary of the radial wheel. By way of this “impinging”, the water willflow, as it were, toward all sides across the upper expander 512. Yet,no water from the water flow located on the expander 512 is to enter thegas channel 434, of course. For this reason, the shaft 432 of the uppermotor 431 may also again be sealed, again with much space remaining forthe seal. Just like in the case of the lower motor, this is due to thefact that the lower boundary of the radial wheel 433 again is sealedanyway, i.e. is impermeable for both liquefied working fluid andevaporated working fluid. The compressed evaporated working fluid isexpelled laterally and not downwardly with respect to FIG. 5. Hence, thesealing requirements of the shaft 432 again are relaxed due to the largearea available.

The heat pump according to the invention includes the evaporator 200,the liquefier 500 with the liquefier wall 505, as well as the gasregion, which may include the interior of the evaporator, which is shownat 220, as well as the gas channel between the first compressor 410 andthe second compressor 430, and which may also include the vapor regionbehind the second compressor 430, which is present above the liquefier.This gas region extends from the evaporator 200 to the liquefier 500,wherein the gas region is formed to hold working fluid evaporated in theevaporator, which is then liquefied upon entering the liquefier, whereinheat may be given off to the liquefier and/or to the liquefied workingfluid, which is arranged in the liquefier in operation. As shown in FIG.1, the gas region extends along the liquefier wall. The liquefier wallhas a bottom area and a lateral area, and the gas region extends bothalong the bottom area and along the lateral area in the embodiment shownin FIG. 1. Although the gas region completely surrounds the portion ofthe liquefier more in contact with the liquefied working fluid on theinside of the liquefier, a significant effect through saving insulationmaterial already is achieved when at least 70% of the entire liquefierwall, which is in contact with the working fluid at a normal operatinglevel of the liquefied working fluid, is in contact with evaporatedworking fluid on the other side. When water is used as the workingfluid, in particular, the pressure in the gas region is so low thatthere is almost a vacuum in the gas region in terms of pressure, whichhas a very significant insulation effect by analogy with the thermosbottle.

FIG. 1 shows a cross-section through the heat pump in verticaldirection. If the heat pump were sectioned in horizontal direction, forexample at half the height of the liquefier, the liquefier would have around cross-section surrounded by a ring, wherein the entire ringrepresents the gas channel and/or gas region. In one embodiment, theliquefier is cylindrical, so that the horizontal cross-section is anannular cross-section. Forms other than cylindrical ones with anelliptical cross-section are also advantageous, however. Moreover, twocompressors are employed advantageously, namely the compressor 410 aswell as the compressor 430, and the gas region extending around theliquefier includes the gas region arranged between the first compressor410 and the second compressor 430, such that the liquefier acts as anintermediate cooler and therefore reduces overheating of the vapor dueto the first compressor, without hereby introducing losses.

The heat pump according to the present invention thus combines diverseadvantages, due to its efficient construction. At first, due to the factthat the liquefier is arranged above the evaporator, the vapor will movefrom the evaporator upwardly in the direction of the first compressorstage. Due to the fact that vapor tends to rise anyway, the vapor willperform this movement due to the compression already, without theadditional drive.

It is a further advantage that the vapor is guided a long path along theliquefier after the first compressor stage. In particular, the vapor isguided around the entire liquefier volume, which entails severaladvantages. On the one hand, the overheating enthalpy of the vaporexiting the first evaporator is given off favorably directly to thebottom wall of the liquefier, at which the coldest working fluid islocated. Then the vapor flows, as it were, from the bottom upwardagainst the layering in the liquefier into the second compressor. Withthis, intermediate cooling is achieved virtually automatically, whichmay be enhanced by an additional intermediate cooler, which can bearranged in a constructively favorable manner, because enough spaceremains on the external wall.

Furthermore, the vapor channel 422 and/or 414, which surrounds theentire space with liquefied working fluid, which is, after all, theheating water reservoir, acts as an additional insulation to theoutside. The vapor channel thus fulfils two functions, namely coolingtoward the liquefier volume on the one hand, and insulation to theexterior of the heat pump on the other hand. According to the principleof the thermos flask, the entire liquefier space again is surrounded bya gap, which now is formed by the vapor channel 414 and/or 422. Incontrast to the gap 640, in which there is higher vapor pressure, thevapor pressure in the channel 422 and/or 414 is even lower and is, e.g.,in the range of 30 hPa or 30 mbar if water is used as the working fluid.By the liquefier thus being surrounded by a vapor channel operating inthe medium pressure range, particularly good insulation thus is achievedinherently, without additional insulation effort. The exterior wall ofthe channel may be insulated to the outside. However, this insulationcan be made substantially cheaper as compared with the case in which theliquefier would have to be insulated directly to the outside.

Furthermore, due to the fact that the vapor channel may extend aroundthe entire working fluid volume, a vapor channel with a largecross-section and little flow resistance is obtained such that, in thecase of a very compact design of the heat pump, a vapor channel having asufficiently large effective cross-section is created, which leads tothe fact that no friction losses, or only very small ones, develop.

Furthermore, the use of two evaporator stages, which may be arrangedbelow the liquefier and above the liquefier, respectively, leads to thefact that both evaporator motors may be accommodated in the liquefierworking fluid volume, so that good motor cooling is achieved, whereinthe cooling waste heat at the same time serves for heating the heatingwater. Moreover, by arranging the second evaporator above the liquefier,it is ensured that as-short-as-possible paths to condensing may beachieved from there, wherein a part of this path that is as large aspossible is utilized by a second intermediate cooler for removing theoverheating enthalpy. This leads to the fact that almost the entirevapor path which the vapor covers after exiting the second compressor ispart of the intermediate cooler, wherein, when the vapor exits theintermediate cooler, condensation takes place immediately, withouthaving to take further, potentially lossy paths for the vapor.

The design with a circular cross-section both for the evaporator and forthe liquefier allows for employing a maximum-size expander 230 for theevaporator and at the same time a maximum-size expander 512 for theliquefier, while still achieving a good and compact construction. Withthis, it is made possible that the evaporator and the liquefier can bearranged along an axis, wherein the liquefier may be arranged above theevaporator, as it has been explained, whereas an inverted arrangementmay, however, be used depending on the implementation, but with theadvantages of the large expanders still remaining.

Although it is of advantage to operate the heat pump with water as theworking fluid, many described embodiments are also achieved with otherworking liquids that are different from water in that the evaporationpressure, and hence the liquefier pressure, are higher altogether.

Although the heat pump has been described such that the heating flow 531and the heating return 532 directly heat a floor heating system, forexample, i.e. an object to be heated, a heat exchanger such as a plateheat exchanger may be provided alternatively such that a heating cycleis decoupled from the liquefied working fluid in the working fluid spacein terms of liquid.

Depending on the implementation, it is of advantage to produce the heatpump, and substantial elements thereof, in plastics injection-moldingtechnology, for cost reasons in particular. Here, arbitrarily-shapedfixtures of the up-flow pipe on the wall of the liquefier, or theprocess water tank on the liquefier, or of heat exchangers in theprocess water tank, or of special shapes of the second intermediatecooler 440, in particular, may be achieved. In particular, the mountingof the motors on the radial wheels may also take place in one operationprocess, such that the motor housing is injection-molded integrally withthe up-flow pipe, with then only the radial wheel being “inserted” inthe completely molded liquefier, and particularly in the stationarymotor part, without still necessitating many additional mounting stepsfor this.

While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments,there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents which fall withinthe scope of this invention. It should also be noted that there are manyalternative ways of implementing the methods and compositions of thepresent invention. It is therefore intended that the following appendedclaims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations,and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the presentinvention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A heat pump, comprising: an evaporator; aliquefier with an outer liquefier wall limiting the liquefier to theoutside; and a gas region extending from the evaporator to theliquefier, wherein the gas region is formed to hold working fluidevaporated in the evaporator, wherein the liquefier is configured toliquefy evaporated working fluid entering the liquefier from the gasregion, such that heat is transferred to liquid working fluid in theliquefier, wherein the gas region extends along the outer liquefierwall, and wherein the gas region is located in a gap between the outerliquefier wall and an outer environment of the heat pump such that thegas region provides a thermal insulation property for the outerliquefier wall.
 2. The heat pump according to claim 1, wherein theliquefier wall comprises a bottom region and a lateral region; whereinthe gas region extends both along the bottom region and along thelateral region.
 3. The heat pump according to claim 1, wherein the gasregion is formed so that, with the liquefier filled, at least 70% of theentire liquefier wall, which is in contact with liquefied working fluidon one side, is in contact with evaporated working fluid on the otherside.
 4. The heat pump according to claim 1, wherein a pressure in thegas region is smaller than or equal to 100 mbar where the gas regionextends along the liquefier wall.
 5. The heat pump according to claim 1,wherein the liquefier comprises a circular or elliptical cross-section,and wherein the gas region extends, annularly in cross section, at leastup to the level of the liquefied working fluid in the liquefier, whenthe liquefier is filled, around the entire liquefier.
 6. The heat pumpaccording to claim 1, wherein the gas region extends between a firstcompressor, which is arranged below the liquefier, and a secondcompressor, which is arranged above the liquefier.
 7. The heat pumpaccording to claim 1, wherein the working fluid is water and theevaporator is formed to maintain a pressure of less than 50 mbar, andthe gas region is formed to maintain a pressure of less than 200 mbar.8. The heat pump according to claim 1, wherein the liquefier is abovethe evaporator in a setup direction of the heat pump.
 9. A method ofmanufacturing a heat pump with an evaporator, a liquefier with an outerliquefier wall limiting the liquefier to the outside and a gas regionextending from the evaporator to the liquefier, comprising: arrangingthe gas region so that the gas region extends along the outer liquefierwall, wherein the gas region is located in a gap between the outerliquefier wall and an outer environment of the heat pump such that thegas region provides a thermal insulation property for the outerliquefier wall.
 10. The method of manufacturing according to claim 9,wherein producing comprises plastics injection molding to produce theliquefier space and a process water tank.
 11. A heat pump, comprising: aliquefier for a heat pump, comprising: a liquefier space comprising aworking fluid space filled up to a filling level when liquefied workingfluid is filled in, and capable of being filled with gaseous workingfluid in a gas region above the filling level; a process water tankformed so that a content of the process water tank is separated from theliquefied working fluid in the working fluid space in terms of liquid,wherein the process water tank comprises a process water inflow for coldprocess water and a process water outflow for heated process water,wherein the process water tank is arranged at least partially in theworking fluid space, and wherein the process water tank comprises a wallspaced from a wall of the working fluid space, wherein a gap formed soas to communicate with the gas region and hold at least partiallygaseous working fluid in operation is acquired; and an evaporator,wherein the evaporator is arranged below the liquefier in a setupdirection of the heat pump.
 12. A method of manufacturing a liquefierfor a heat pump with a liquefier space comprising a working fluid space,which is filled up to a filling level when liquefied working fluid isfilled in, and which can be filled with gaseous working fluid above thefilling level in a gas region, and a process water tank formed so that acontent of the process water tank is separated from the liquefiedworking fluid in the working fluid space in terms of liquid, wherein theprocess water tank comprises a process water inflow for cold processwater and a process outflow for heated process water, comprising:producing the liquefier space and the process water tank so that theprocess water tank is arranged at least partially within the workingfluid space, wherein, in producing, a wall of the process water tank ismanufactured such that it is spaced from a wall of the working fluidspace, wherein a gap formed to communicate with the gas region and holdat least partially gaseous working fluid in operation is acquired.